License or emblem tag and fastening means therefor



Sept 5, 1933. T A, KIRTON 1,925,667

LICENSE OR EMBLEM TAG AND FASTENING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 24, 1932 Patented Sept. 5, 19331 LICENSE R EMBLEM TAG AND FASTENING IMEANS THEREFOR Thomas A. Kirton, Jacksonville, Application March 24, 1932. Serial No. 600,994

'1 Claims. (Cl. 40-125) This invention relates to tags and means for fastening them upon automobiles and particularly to a tag having thereon an emblem, as for instance, a Masonic emblem, a doctors em- 6'blem or the like or which may have thereon the date of issue of an automobile license, this tag being capable of being applied each year to a license plate and showing that a license had been taken out for that particular year without the necessity of changing the entire license plate so that the car might retain the same license number as originally given to it but the date be changed each year.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means for attaching a license tag of this character to the license plate, which means is so constructed that the tag must be destroyed in order to remove it from the car.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which may be cheaply made and which has been found to be thoroughly effective in practice.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:-

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a license plate with my tag applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the head of the pin;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an elevation of the head of the sleeve;

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the sleeve.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the tag which is composed of two plates of metal, the outer plate 11 being of relatively thin metal, and the inner plate 12 being of heavier metal. The outer plate 11 is preferably spot welded or otherwise strongly attached to the inner thickness 12. The outer plate 11 is preferably stamped with the emblem desired or withthe year number as for instance 1933, as shown, and is preferably formed with an outstanding rim. The center of this outer plate 11 is formed with the central opening 11a. The inner plate 12 is also formed with a central opening 13 and on each side of this opening, this inner plate upon its inner face is formed with the inwardly pressed lugs '14, these lugs 14 extending away from the outer plate 11 and being adapted to be inserted within the slot of a license. bracket or license plate or both.

These lugs 14 may be stamped up from the inner plate 12 or otherwise formed.

Disposed between the outer plate 11- and the inner plate 12 is the head 15 of a pin 16. This head has a diameter larger than the aperture 13. This head 15 is stamped or otherwise formed with two radially extending nicks 17, as shown in Figure 4, the wall on one side of each nick being outwardly bent as at 18, the wall on the other side of the nick being inwardly extended as at 19 (see particularly Figure 5). There is thus formed a ratchet nick in the head 15 which will permit this pin 16 to be rotated in one direction by a screw driver but will prevent a reverse rotation of the pin 16 by the screw driver. Coacting with the head of the pin 16 is a tubular bolt 20 which has a smooth in-.- terior bore into which the pin 16 fits and which is exteriorlyscrew-threaded as 21. This bolt is provided with a head 22. The face of this head is formed with the depressions 23 into which the depressed tongues 19 engage. It will be seen that when the pin 16 is rotated in one di-v rection, the depressed tongues 19 will engage in these recesses 23 and cause a unitary rotation of the bolt 20 with the pin 16 but when it is attempted to reversely rotate the head 15, the 35 bolt 20 will not rotate. Coacting with this bolt 20 is a nut 24, the inner face of which is provided with the diametrically extending lug 25, this nut being interiorly screw-threaded to engage the screw-threads 21 of sleeve 20.

The head 15 of the pin 16 and the head 22 of the bolt 20 are disposed between the two plates 11 and 12 of the tag with the center of the head 15 is the opening 11a and with the v screw-threaded bolt 20extending through the central aperture 13 of the inner wall. a

when this tag is to be applied to the usual slotted license plate 26 supported upon the usual slotted bracket or support 27, the tag is disposed with its lugs 14 through the registering slots of these two plates 26 and 2'7. The nut 24 is engaged with the screw-threads 21 and screwed nearly home and then the lug 25 on the nut 24 is inserted in' the slot of the bracket 2'1 and then a screw driver is used to rotate the head 15 to thus cause the nut to be drawn up tightly and the inner wall of the tag firmly 'engaged with the license plate and the bracket. When this has been done, it is imno possible to remove the license tag without tearing it on. The nut 24 cannot be rotated re versely to turn it oil the threads 21 because its lug is disposed within the slot of the bracket and the bolt 20 cannot be turned in a reverse 5 direction because even though the head be turned reversely the ratchet tongues 19 which in a sense constitute pawls will simply slip out of the recesses 23 and thus there will be no means of reversely turning the bolt 20, the head 15 with its pin, constituting means whereby the bolt can be turned in one direction but cannot be turned in the reverse direction.

I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction shown as obviously this might be changed in details in many ways without departing iromthe spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

It is reiterated that this tag 10 may be used either as an auxiliary tag to the license plate or may be used as a tag for displaying an emblem such as a Masonic emblem, a doctor's emblem, police emblem or the like and that the embodiment shown is purely illustrative of one of its uses.

I claim:--

1. A tag for attachment over an automobile license plate, the tag having an outer plate and an inner plate, the outer plate having a central opening and the inner plate having an opening smaller than the opening of the outer plate, an exteriorly screw-threaded tubular bolt disposed with its head between the outer and the irmer plate and with its shank extending through the aperture in the inner plate, a nut engaging said 5; shank and having a lug adapted to be received within the slot oi a supporting bracket and held from rotation thereby, and a member having a portion disposed within the opening in the outer thickness of the tag and having a pin engaging i; the tubular bolt, the head of the pin having a ratchet nick upon its outer face for engagement by a screw-driver and the head of the pin and the head of the bolt being formed for common rotary movement upon a rotation of the pin in one direction, the head of the pin disengaging irom the head of the bolt when the pin is rotated in the opposite direction.

2. A tag for attachment over an automobile license plate, the tag having an outer plate and an inner plate, the outer plate having a cen= tral opening and the inner plate having an Elli opening smaller than the opening of the outer plate, an exteriorly screw-threaded tubular bolt disposed with its head between the outer and the inner plate and with its shank extending through the aperture in the inner plate, a nut engaging said shank and having a lug adapted to be received within the slot of a supporting an bracket and held from rotation thereby, a pin 1' having a head disposed below the opening in the outer thickness of the tag and having a shank extending into the tubular bolt, the head having a ratchet nick upon its outer face for engagement by a screw-driver and the head having upon its inner face resilient pawls extending circumferentially in one direction, the outer face of the bolt head being provided with notches into which said pawls engage when the pin is rotated in one direction but with which the pawls disengage when the pin is turned in the opposite direction.

3. A tag of the character described having an outer wall and an inner spaced wall, both walls of the tag having a central opening, the inner wall having lugs extending inward from it and adapted to extend through the slot of a license plate and into the slot of a bracheh'an exteriorly screw-threaded bolt having its shank extending through the opening in the inner wall and having its head disposed between the two walls, the outer face of the bolt head being provided with a plurality of recesses, a nut engaging the shank of the bolt,.the inner end of the nut being formed with a lug engageable in the slot of a bracket to thereby prevent the nut being turned when the nut is screwed home, and a member rotatably mounted on the bolt and having a head exposed through the central opening of the outer plate, said member being formed upon its outer face to permit engagement by a screw-driver and a rotation of the head in one direction only by said screw-driver, said member upon its inner face being formed with pawl-like tongues engageable in the recesses in the face of the bolt upon a rotation of the member in one direction but disengageable therefrom upon a rotation of the member in the opposite direction.

4. A tag of the character described including outer and inner connected walls spaced from each other, both of said walls being formed with registering apertures, an exteriorly screwthreaded tubular bolt having its head disposed between the outer and inner walls and having its shank extending out through the aperture in the rear wall, the head of the bolt upon its outer face being formed with recesses, a nut engaging said bolt and formed with a lug upon its inner end adapted to engage within the slot of a supporting bracket to prevent, the nut from being 9 turned when it is screwed home, and a pin extending into the bolt and having a head disposed inward of the outer wall but displayed through the opening in the outer wall, said head being cut to provide a plurality of pairs oi tongues, one tongue of each pair being turned inward and the other corresponding tongue turned outward to thereby provide resilient pawls engaging the recesses in the face of the bolt head and provide a ratchet nick for the reception of a 2 screw-driver on the outer face of the pin head.

5. A tag of the character described having a bolt rotatably mounted upon the tag, the bolt being so engaged with the tag as to prevent its detachment without destroying the tag, a nut engageable with the bolt and having a lug upon its inner end adapted for engagement within the slot of a supporting bracket, and means whereby said bolt may be rotated in a direction to screw the nut inward on the bolt but not rotated in the opposite direction.

6. A tag of the character described, having a central opening, a bolt having a head rotatably engaged with said tag behind the central opening, a nut engageable with the bolt and having means upon its inner end adapted for engagement with the slot of a supporting bracket, and a member rotatably engaged with the tag against the inner surface thereof and having a portion projecting out through said central opening, the outer face of the portion being formed with a nick for the reception of a screwdriver, the head of the bolt and the inner face of said member being formed for common rotation in a direction to screw the bolt onto the nut, a reverse movement of said member disengaging the member from the bolt to permit an independent rotation of said member in the reverse direction. 50

7. As an article of manufacture, a tubular its bolt exterioriy screw-threaded, a nut enzage able with the bolt and having diametrically disposed lugs on its inner face, the bolt having a head and a pin extending into the tubular bolt and having a head exterior to the head of the bolt, the confronting iacesoi the bolt head and pin head having coacting ratchet members coacting to cause a rotation of thebolt in one di- 

